State of the Titan

[DrakeGrimm]

...poor little trolls. Don't they know we beat them up for their lunch money on a regular basis? >.>

[emu265]

...poor little trolls. Don't they know we beat them up for their lunch money on a regular basis? >.>

We beat them up before they cause problems.  That's what heroes do

[downix]

We beat them up before they cause problems.  That's what heroes do

Especially when they're holding a rave. No Supa-Trolls!

[Kheprera]

Now now... we're heroes...

And geeks...

We troll the trolls in such a way they don't realize they're being trolled until their argument has been reduced into itty bitty microbes of dust.

[FlameBailador]

I'm a bit of a troll myself.  But not in a bad way.  I am not the most vocal person in the world, but definitely count myself as a Woman in Tights.  Not sure how I can help in the grand scheme of things (I don't know anyone important, don't have any computer skills, etc.), but when I see something I CAN do, I'm right there.  Sent in my cape and mask, wrote my letters, and was in one of the many Atlas Parks during our big event.     Couldn't attend the Posi's due to RL stuff with the kids, but I'm reading the posts daily and watching for the next call to action.  I'm right here for ya'll with my pom poms and megaphone. 

[eabrace]

We troll the trolls in such a way they don't realize they're being trolled until their argument has been reduced into itty bitty microbes of dust.

Meta-Trolling.

[Segev]

*gulp*

Politics? That is a bit of a (okay, a big) weakness of mine. I shall do my best to curb my instincts just in case.

So, out of curiosity, what makes "now" the right time for this sort of thing to start?

[Victoria Victrix]

*gulp*

Politics? That is a bit of a (okay, a big) weakness of mine. I shall do my best to curb my instincts just in case.

So, out of curiosity, what makes "now" the right time for this sort of thing to start?

It's kind of a three-week thing.  We lasted more than three weeks, and we are STILL getting attention.  If anything, the attention is spreading, and it's beginning to creep over to their other products in a negative fashion.  We didn't lose heart or momentum when all the "usual" ploys were tried to silence us, we didn't lose heart or attention when they silenced Zwill, and we're obviously focused.  So time to try sabotage and scatter the sheep.

[Knightward]

I suspect because we're sustaining this.  Give time to see whether or not it's just a flash in the pan, and potentially once morale has been dipping.  That way it's easier to tear it apart from the inside.

[Segev]

Ah. "Three weeks" is the time signal for that, huh? Interesting.

Oddly, I'm not one of the partisans who're hostile to NCSoft over this; I just think they're making a tragic, bad business decision. And I hope to (or at least to see somebody) change their minds, because I like it when everybody wins. Including NCSoft, if they'll make a deal to part with the IP they no longer wish to support.

[Victoria Victrix]

That's why I am trying to stay on target with this, Segev.  They have made it clear they have no intention of reviving the game (and at this point I am inclined to agree with others that have said that they can't within their own culture, because doing so would "prove" they were "wrong.")

All I want is to pressure them into releasing the IP to someone else.  After that, I am "moderately" indifferent, and I certainly do not want to see them shit-can other NCSoft West employees or torpedo ArenaNet.

That doesn't mean that I am ever going to trust them with my money or heart again.

[DrakeGrimm]

The only way NCSoft will earn my eternal ire is by torpedoing City of Heroes and not releasing the IP. Otherwise...whatever.

[Joshex]

so what is the state of the titan? I've been absent recently, any updates on the negotiations with NCSoft?

[TimtheEnchanter]

I addressed this in the FAQ thread, but I'll rehash here as well.

This is a very real tactic.  If this is hurting NCsoft, they're going to do everything in their power to make it stop.  It's no secret that Titan Network is our base of operations and account registration is free and simple.  It'd only take a few minutes to register and post something discouraging.   Given that it's so easy, and possibly effective, why wouldn't they give it a shot?  We made them blink, we cannot pretend like they're ignoring us anymore. 

Even if you want to write this sort of thing off as paranoia, it will not hurt you to keep a watchful eye.  Above all, keep your spirits up.

Yeah, my head hit the desk when EA got caught pulling this crap. It really made me think, "What the heck is the point to individuality anymore if any business can just go in and do that?"

And it may have already happened here. Whoever it was that made his first post here, a rant about something that got posted on the official Twitter? About a joke that involved calling a GW2 ad offensive. I saw an almost identical post on the NC forums, and on at least one of the FB groups in the same 12 hours.

[StarRanger4]

so what is the state of the titan? I've been absent recently, any updates on the negotiations with NCSoft?

No updates.  We might hear something by the end of the week; VV's friend inside the loop hoped to hear something soon.
When word gets out, I'm sure Tony will post it here as soon as he can

[chaparralshrub]

Well, I don't want to be the one who is discouraging, or negative, despite the fact that I am angry about NC's continual bad behavior in this sector (see the fool me six times thread).

I am, however, going to make some observations.

1. I'm a realist, and, yes, a pessimist, and I'm not going to be closed about the fact that our chances of saving CoH are slim, and always were. Not zero, not that we shouldn't try, but that we should think of alternatives.

2. The people in the Champions Online forums have been speculating that the death of CoH represents a change in the market, and that they're next. In other words, we have allies over there. Personally, I like CO, not as much as CoH, and I know that many CoHers are now playing CO (and many were playing both before as well). Not all CoHers do like CO, of course, and the reasons for this are obvious. For this reason, it's not a "substitute" for CoH, but for some of us, it's a life boat. A lifeboat to where, though?

3. A lifeboat to what we're calling Plan Z is the answer. The amount of stuff that is getting put together for Plan Z is awe-inspiring, given the fact that this is an entirely volunteer operation without any funding, official leadership, or direction other than that we want to save CoH. We're going to need these things if Plan Z is ever to succeed, but we have ideas floating around concerning that; they're just dedicated to saving CoH at the moment, as well they should be.

And, come November 30, I'm going to be running some forum games (moderators, please give me a section of Titan forums in which to do this) that will also help act as a lifeboat for some of those for whom CO is not.

*

By the way, I'm actually happy to hear that some of the devs have found their way back to Cryptic. They're real people, real heroes, with real lives. Cryptic made CoH. Now that they're home again, it's only a matter of time before they either remake CO to the point where it is a substitute for CoH, or else they make something else that is equally cool.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Aye, chaparralshrub... I hadn't thought about what other game communities are thinking about all of this, beyond "Dayum, those guys are dedicated", but I can imagine it must be a bit scary, akin to one of the World Wars, and "I hope the war doesn't come here."

I could easily see a situation where we keep getting pushed back, as more of the pre-WoW-clone MMO's (where most of the visionary development was) fall, until we ALL wind up at the last remaining one, whatever that may be.

But I have a feeling the industry will start trying to be more creative again before it comes to that. After so many failures at trying to beat it, companies can't forever live under the delusion that the only way to get WoW-level subs is to copy WoW... can they?

[chaparralshrub]

I could easily see a situation where we keep getting pushed back, as more of the pre-WoW-clone MMO's (where most of the visionary development was) fall, until we ALL wind up at the last remaining one, whatever that may be.

Not sure what you mean - that we, Plan Z, will keep getting pushed back? The plan for Plan Z is to have a few zones and missions and things get put out quickly, and then build up over time. We'll be smaller at launch than CoH was, but not by a *whole* lot.

It's kind of a three-week thing.  We lasted more than three weeks, and we are STILL getting attention.  If anything, the attention is spreading, and it's beginning to creep over to their other products in a negative fashion.  We didn't lose heart or momentum when all the "usual" ploys were tried to silence us, we didn't lose heart or attention when they silenced Zwill, and we're obviously focused.  So time to try sabotage and scatter the sheep.

Not that I want to gainsay somebody who is clearly more experienced, credentialed, and wiser in this regard than myself, but I would like to propose the following policies toward suspected moles/saboteurs:

(more ranting on my part )


1. Just because somebody is new doesn't mean they're a mole. Should be self-explanatory, but if we're gaining recognition, then other people may come to join us as well. Some of them will have good intentions.

2. Our situation is somewhat grim. Feeling discouraged is not a sign of "disloyalty" whatever that means. Of course, we should talk it up when we see it, because we do have options. Personally, I think plan Z's chances of success are better than we initially believed. There remain some pieces that we absolutely need (e.g. skills in running a company), but it's clear that there are people on this forum that may have that; they're just applying their skills toward trying to save CoH as long as that remains a possibility.

Remember - when factions are feeling like they're on the ropes, there is an instinctive reaction to look for traitors. In this case, the worst thing that traitors can do to us is try to bring our morale down or start fights. Fights can be handled by moderators, and morale is our own business. For this reason, I would much rather have a few moles on Titan than incorrectly brand anyone trying to save CoH in some way, shape, or form (Plan Z included). Being branded a traitor when you aren't is terrible for morale, as is the fear of having that happen, even if it doesn't.

[Victoria Victrix]

I figure most of us know depression from an outright attempt to sow dissent.  This is probably a saner bunch than 99% of the political organizations I've ever belonged to.  Wait, that was praising with faint damns....

I just want people to be cautious, because for a group like ours, small, fighting an uphill battle, it is so easy to unthinkingly, and indiscriminately welcome anyone who joins. 

[TimtheEnchanter]

Not sure what you mean - that we, Plan Z, will keep getting pushed back? The plan for Plan Z is to have a few zones and missions and things get put out quickly, and then build up over time. We'll be smaller at launch than CoH was, but not by a *whole* lot.

No no no, I mean as far as "official" games are concerned. It remains to be seen how quickly Phoenix can be up and running in an Alpha state, but these things certainly don't happen overnight. In the meantime, given that most MMO's are just trying to replicate Blizzard only better, those of us who were there during the pioneer days of MMO's are still longing for a sense of open-world immersion instead of being told where to go along a linear path all the time, and like wildlife losing territory to climate change, will keep migrating to wherever the grass is still green, even as the amount of habitable territory continues to wane.